A man whose newborn baby received a fractured skull in a gang attack said yesterday that he felt sorry for his assailants.

Five-week-old Elizabeth Nunes received the injury after her father Jeremy was knocked to the ground and kicked by teenagers while carrying his daughter in a baby harness.

The attack has generated outrage and resulted in a flood of calls to police by people wanting to express their disgust or offer the family support. NSW Premier Bob Carr described the attackers as animals. But Mr Nunes said that he and his wife Catherine felt sorry for them. "We do pity them, that they haven't had a better example in life. Nonetheless though, it's still a cowardly act," he said.

"I just hope that someone will have seen something or someone will come forward with some sort of information for the police. We just pray for that."

The assault occurred on Thursday night a few hundred metres from a police station in a busy street in Maroubra, in Sydney's east.

Police said the attack continued even though the gang must have realised their victim was carrying a baby.

Catherine and Jeremy Nunes.

They said dozens of people had called about the incident.

"We've had people just expressing their disgust at the horrific crime and offering their support to the family," said Superintendent Eddie Bosch. He said it was unusual for so many to call merely out of sympathy.

Strangers had been sending flowers and cards to the family and someone had offered the family a baby capsule. Mr Nunes was believed to have been walking home with the baby because his family car did not have a baby capsule.

Elizabeth was taken in a serious condition to Sydney Children's Hospital, where doctors said it could be years before it was known whether she had suffered brain damage. Mr Bosch said her condition since had improved slightly.

Mr Nunes was attacked from behind before the youths realised the baby was being cradled by him.

"I'd say considering how long the assault went for, at some stage they must have realised that the baby was present," Mr Bosch said. "We don't really know what the motive was . . . at this stage it may be totally random."